When You're Gone
by Taeng
Summary: One Shot. Alternative to the aftermath of the episode 'With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept'.


This takes place after the school shooting (episode: _With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept _which I think is one of the best episodes)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill, the characters, or the song. They belong to their respective owners.

_**When You're Gone**_

_I want to be with you. Not Peyton._

_But why? I need to know why._

_Because you kink your eyebrow when you're trying to be cute. Because you quote Camus even though I've never actually seen you read. And because you miss your parents but you'll never ever admit that. And because I've given exactly two of these embarrassing speeches in my entire life and they've both been with you. I mean it's got to mean something, right? And because we're both going to get pneumonia. But if you need to know why I love you, I can go on all night._

_You did pretty good. _

***************

They walked down the corridor, joking about the usual things. They turned the corner and they both instantaneously looked where they were going, through the glass doors. Their eyes widened with surprise and fear. There was a loud, ear-piercing bang.

***************

He was shaking. He didn't know what to do. His eyes were dry. All of his tears spent. He couldn't cry anymore. It, like everything else, even breathing, was now painful. What hurt most was that he hadn't been there. He should have been. He should never have left her. But he thought she was fine. She said she was fine. She said it was just a scratch. He shouldn't have left. What was he suppose to do now?

He couldn't walk down that corridor, past the boarded up doors anymore. It reminded him of that day. It reminded everyone of that day. Three people dead. Two were people he loved. One was his friend, his former friend. And he had been with none of them when they died. He should have been.

He could see three small shrines. One attached to a disused classroom door: Keith's. His heart skipped a beat and he felt a chill down his spine as he briefly glanced at it. He couldn't bring himself to look at it properly. But he would, eventually. One attached to one of the many blue lockers: Jimmy's. He felt a flash of anger as he walked past. Jimmy didn't deserve a shrine, not after what he did. He then saw it. The third shrine. He walked over to it, trying desperately hard not to cry. He had done enough and he didn't think he could cry anymore. He saw a small gang stood next to it, all of them crying. They all looked at him as he approached, then they all took a respectful step back, allowing him to see the shrine in all of its detail.

In the middle of an array of various coloured and types of flowers was a picture of a beautiful girl, smiling at the camera. Her long brown hair cascading over her shoulders. He looked at her eyes. They, like her hair, were brown and he could see them shining, showing that she was truly happy. He could remember the photo being taken. After all, he had taken it. It had been shortly after they had gotten back together. But now, she was gone.

He couldn't take it anymore.

His heart shattered.

He cried.

He wanted her back.

He wanted his Pretty Girl back.

He felt one of his friends wrap their arms around him from behind.

"I'm sorry," the person whispered. He recognised the voice: Haley.

He nodded automatically in response and a couple of minutes later she let go, probably back into the arms of Nathan. As soon as she let go, a blonde haired girl showed up. Like the others, tears were falling down her face. Not that he could blame her. They had, after all, been best friends. He wondered if she too felt guilty. He did. He had been with her, had kissed her and he hadn't been with the girl she loved when she died. None of them had been. Only his mother and Whitey. None of them had realised she was hurt. He had seen the wound, but she had said that it was just a scratch. She had wanted him to make sure Peyton was alright. He shouldn't have left her. He couldn't believe she was gone. As soon as Whitey had forced onto that bus she had collapsed and then, while he was with her best friend instead of her, she had died. She had died and none of them were there. His Pretty Girl was gone. He couldn't call her that any more. He couldn't see her, talk to her, kiss her, touch her, love her...

He missed her. More then he wanted to. More then his heart could take. But he shouldn't have to miss her. He shouldn't have left. He should have been with her, looked after her. Maybe then she would still be here.

He looked at Peyton and she wrapped her arms around him, holding onto him tightly as she would never let him go. He put his arms around her and held her. She cried into his shoulder. He could feel her tears seep through his shirt, but he didn't care, it was just a top, it could be replaced, unlike her. No one could ever replace her.

He looked over her head, back at the shrine, at the words underneath her picture:

_Brooke Davis_

_4th March 1989 – 1st March 2006_

_Never Forgotten_

What was he going to do without her?

He slowly let go. Peyton felt him tense, let go and stood to one side. She knew.

He couldn't do this. Not yet. He couldn't walk down these corridors, sit in those classrooms, stand in the gym and play basketball without her.

Without saying a word, he left.

He wasn't ready to do this.

He couldn't do this without her.

Not yet.

* * *

A/N: Basically, Brooke was shot when Jimmy fired the gun at the beginning of the episode and she died. I know it wasn't an original idea, and even though I prefer Brooke and Lucas to Peyton and Lucas, I couldn't help it, I just had to write it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think.

Oh, about the dates, I don't know when the episode took place, so I used the air date of _With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept. _And the date of birth was from the episode _Things I Forgot At Birth_

The quote at the beginning is from the episode _The Wind That Blew My Heart Away_

_**Song:**_

_**When You're Gone**_ – Avril Lavigne


End file.
